BLITZ KRIEG PUBLISHING
Teens and Dating: Instruction Manual Now Available
By Donna Gundle-Krieg April 1, 2009
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How should parents handle teenage dating?
Most parents share the concerns that my husband and I have, such as: when should we let our teenagers date? What is the definition of dating? Who should they be allowed to date?
Luckily, there is a newly published book which serves as a “teenage dating manual” for parents. This book is cleverly modeled after a driver’s education manual.
This manual gives step by step directions on how to keep our children from hitting the concrete walls of a dating disasters, according to Lisa Jander, author of “Dater’s Ed: The Instruction Manual for Parents.”
“Very few kids fail Driver’s ed --- millions fail at dating.”
She’s right. After all, it is the law in many states that our teenagers practice for hours before they drive, yet many of us just let our kids date without any discussions or preparation.
The book stresses preparation as well as clearcut guidelines and strict rules for dating, including Jander’s own idea of “logging hours.”
Why shouldn’t kids log a certain number of hours with another before they can actually go out on a date with that person? We make them log hours on the road before we let them drive.
Discussion with your teens is also crucial.
“Teenagers do not know how to date. Do not be afraid to bring up these issu issues,” says Denise Witmer in Five Truths about Your Teen and DatiDating. “Teens whose parents talk to them about dating are better
prepared and happier.”
Witmer also notes that your teen will need privacy as he or she starts to
date, but will also still need you to be around. “Hope for the best,
prepare for the worst, and be there for your teen,” she says.
I was pleasantly surprised that Jander has not sold out to society’s idea that “teenagers will have sex, so give them birth control and let them go.”
It’s always bugged me that adults have let children lead the way with sex and dating, as I noted in “Will Schools Continue to Teach Abstinence Only Sex Education?”
Jander opts to not blindly follow society. Instead, she goes for the more conservative and protective method of parenting, and her chapter called “Boundary Lines” is informational and inspiring.
I was lucky to stumble upon Jander’s seminar at our local public library. She is also a parent of teens as well as a certified life coach, public speaker, and former director of a dating service in California.
For more information, see:
“Dater’s Ed: The Instruction Manual for Parents”
Teens and Dating: Five Truths about Your Teen and Dating
“Will Schools Continue to Teach Abstinence Only Sex Education.”
Stories by Donna Gundle-Krieg:
Education in the United States
Books With Stories by Donna Gundle-Krieg
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Michigan Death Notices home page
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